Boulder County Sheriff's survey says residents feel safe

Pelle said nothing surprised him in the results

BOULDER -- There is the issue of residents expecting a bit more follow-up from Boulder County deputies investigating cases.

There are also the standby issues of traffic enforcement, disputes between motorists and bicyclists, animal control and solicitation problems.

However, by and large, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said a communitywide survey of residents who live in the unincorporated parts of the county and are therefore covered by his deputies, found that residents feel safe.

In fact, between 82 percent and 92 percent of those who replied to the sheriff's first-ever community survey said they felt very safe in Boulder County.

Boulder County Sheriff's deputy Keith Powell writes a ticket for a motorist who failed to yield to a school bus' flashing red lights Friday morning. By and large, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said a communitywide survey of residents who live in the unincorporated parts of the county and are therefore covered by his deputies, found that residents feel safe. To view more photos, visit www.timescall.com.
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LEWIS GEYER
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"Anecdotally, I get a sense of community problems and concerns, but it is really nice to see data that has been looked at by statisticians and sorted through that really shows the same things I am sensing," Pelle said.

Longmont crime and research information analyst Elise Flesher helped with the survey, which will be used as part of a broader planning process to develop a strategic plan for the office. She had hoped for a 30 to 35 percent return rate from the 4,000 surveys sent to residents, but only 17.5 percent were sent back in. She said the overall data are valid, but it makes it harder to parse the data by demographic criteria to tease out more specific information because the samples would be too small to be telling.

To some degree, Pelle said, the lack of response might be read as an endorsement because survey recipients did not feel strongly enough about the office's job to respond.

Boulder County crime and intel analyst D.J. Rogers added it also could mean residents didn't feel they had enough background to offer information.

"A lot of people select themselves out of things like this because they haven't had contact with us," he said.

Of residents who responded to the survey, only 19 percent had ever reported any kind of victimization to the county, 59 percent reported that they had had no contact with the sheriff's office, and 36 percent reported at least one contact with the sheriff's office. Five percent who had reported a contact said it was not helpful.

The sheriff also conducted a survey of employees, which he said also resulted in predictable results. Communication internally is an area he hopes to look at.

The survey hit homes in the unincorporated parts of the county and Lyons and Superior, which don't have their own police departments.

Pelle said mountain residents were upset about visitors who fire guns in the mountains, ride ATVs and set fires.

The sheriff's office is planning a retreat in February, which will include members of the staff, representatives from organizations that work with the office, and residents from various communities in the county. The meeting is intended to chart the course for a strategic plan that Pelle said he hopes will help guide future sheriffs, chiefs and commanders.

For now, Pelle said, he is looking at ways to make sure residents hear back from deputies consistently.

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